Dependence of the population morbidity on the ground-level ozone concentration in the summer of 2010 was studied in a city with low urbanization (Vyatskie Polyany, Kirov oblast) and in Moscow. At a high air temperature and low ozone concentration, the population morbidity was not associated with these parameters in Vyatskie Polyany. When the average daily ground-level ozone concentration exceeded 60 μg/m(3) for 13 successive days, the correlation coefficient between ozone concentration and the number of ambulance calls was statistically significant, r = 0...

BACKGROUND: An association between occurrence of wildfires and mortality in the exposed population has been observed in several studies with controversial results for cause-specific mortality. In the Mediterranean area, forest fires usually occur during spring-summer, they overlap with Saharan outbreaks, are associated with increased temperature and their health effects are probably due to an increase in particulate matter. AIM AND METHODS: We analysed the effects of wildfires and particulate matter (PM10) on mortality in 10 southern European cities in Spain, France, Italy and Greece (2003-2010), using satellite data for exposure assessment and Poisson regression models, simulating a case-crossover approach...

BACKGROUND: Severe air pollution generated by forest fires is becoming an increasingly frequent public health management problem. We measured the association between forest fire smoke events and hospital emergency department (ED) attendances in Sydney from 1996-2007. METHODS: A smoke event occurred when forest fires caused the daily citywide average concentration of particulate matter (PM10 or PM2.5) to exceed the 99th percentile of the entire study period. We used a time-stratified case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression models adjusted for meteorology, influenza epidemics, and holidays to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for ED attendances on event days compared with non-event days for all non-trauma ED attendances and selected cardiorespiratory conditions...

Exposure to forest fire smoke (FFS) is associated with multiple adverse health effects, mostly respiratory. Findings for cardiovascular effects have been inconsistent, possibly related to the limitations of conventional methods to assess FFS exposure. In previous work, we developed an empirical model to estimate smoke-related fine particulate matter (PM2.5) for all populated areas in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Here, we evaluate the utility of our model by comparing epidemiologic associations between modeled and measured PM2...

Naturally occurring radionuclides of uranium, thorium, radium, lead and polonium were determined in bushes and trees and in the smoke from summer forest fires. Activity concentrations of radionuclides in smoke particles were much enriched when compared to original vegetation. Polonium-210 ((210)Po) in smoke was measured in concentrations much higher than all other radionuclides, reaching 7,255 ± 285 Bq kg(-1), mostly associated with the smaller size smoke particles (<1.0 μm). Depending on smoke particle concentration, (210)Po in surface air near forest fires displayed volume concentrations up to 70 m Bq m(-3), while in smoke-free air (210)Po concentration was about 30 μ Bq m(-3)...

BACKGROUND: From 2 to 5 December 2010, Israel experienced the most severe forest fire In its history, resulting in the deaths of rescue workers. Little research exists on the health risks to emergency responders during forest fires, and there is no published research to date on occupational health among firefighters in Israel. OBJECTIVES: To describe the exposures experienced by emer gency responders to smoke, fire retardants and stress; the utilization of protective equipment; and the frequency of corresponding symptoms during and following the Carmel Forest fire...

Climate change is a health threat no less consequential than cigarette smoking. Increased concentrations of greenhouse gases, and especially CO₂, in the earth's atmosphere have already warmed the planet substantially, causing more severe and prolonged heat waves, temperature variability, air pollution, forest fires, droughts, and floods, all of which put respiratory health at risk. These changes in climate and air quality substantially increase respiratory morbidity and mortality for patients with common chronic lung diseases such as asthma and COPD and other serious lung diseases...

BACKGROUND: Several studies have evaluated the association between forest fire smoke and acute exacerbations of respiratory diseases, but few have examined effects on pharmaceutical dispensations. We examine the associations between daily fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and pharmaceutical dispensations for salbutamol in forest fire-affected and non-fire-affected populations in British Columbia (BC), Canada. METHODS: We estimated PM2.5 exposure for populations in administrative health areas using measurements from central monitors...

Exposure to combustion products from wildland fires causes respiratory irritation and decreased lung function among firefighters. The authors evaluated carbon monoxide (CO) exposures of a group of wildland firefighters who conducted prescribed burns in the southeastern United States of America. A total of 149 person-days of samples were collected using data logging CO monitors. A questionnaire was administered to collect data on job tasks and self-reported smoke exposure. Overall, the highest exposures were seen amongst firefighters assigned to holding and mop-up tasks (geometric mean [GM]: 2...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Exposure to forest fire smoke is episodic, which makes its health effects challenging to study. We review the newest contributions to a growing literature on acute respiratory outcomes. RECENT FINDINGS: Smoke exposure was associated with increases in self-reported symptoms, medication use, outpatient physician visits, emergency room visits, hospital admissions, and mortality. The associations were strongest for the outcomes most specific to asthma...

BACKGROUND: During the summer of 2003 numerous fires burned in British Columbia, Canada. OBJECTIVES: We examined the associations between respiratory and cardiovascular physician visits and hospital admissions, and three measures of smoke exposure over a 92-day study period (1 July to 30 September 2003). METHODS: A population-based cohort of 281,711 residents was identified from administrative data. Spatially specific daily exposure estimates were assigned to each subject based on total measurements of particulate matter (PM) ≤ 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10) from six regulatory tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM) air quality monitors, smoke-related PM10 from a CALPUFF dispersion model run for the study, and a SMOKE exposure metric for plumes visible in satellite images...

Population, health, and environment programs are cross-sectoral development initiatives that link conservation, health, and family planning interventions. These programs are generally located in biodiversity hotspots, where population pressure is among the factors contributing to environmental degradation. This review describes the general structure of population, health, and environment programs and provides selected examples to highlight various aspects of this approach. We focus in depth on a case study from the Integrating Population and Health into Forestry Management Agendas program in Nepal that simultaneously addressed deforestation from fuel-wood harvesting, indoor air pollution from wood fires, acute respiratory infections related to smoke inhalation, as well as family planning in communities in Nepal's densely populated forest corridors...

Forest fires burned near the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation in northern California from late August until early November in 1999. The fires generated particulate matter reaching hazardous levels. We assessed the relationship between patients seeking care for six health conditions and PM(10) exposure levels during the 1999 fires and during the corresponding period in 1998 when there were no fires. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that daily PM(10) levels in 1999 were significant predictors for patients seeking care for asthma, coronary artery disease and headache after controlling for potential risk factors...

Air pollution is a major public health problem in the Amazon forest and in large Brazilian cities. During September of 2005, high concentrations of smoke from biomass burning were observed in the city of Rio Branco. An ecological study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between daily concentrations of particulate matter < 2.5 microm (PM2.5) and the number of respiratory disease (RD)-related emergency room visits. Daily PM2.5 concentrations exceeded recommended air quality limits on 23 days. The incidence of RDs was higher among children < 10 years of age...

Epidemiological studies report an association between exposure to biomass smoke and cardiopulmonary morbidity. The mechanisms for this association are unclear. The aim of the present study was to characterise the acute pulmonary and systemic inflammatory effects of exposure to forest fire smoke. Seasonal forest firefighters (n = 52) were recruited before and/or after a day of fire-fighting. Exposure was assessed by questionnaires and measurement of carbon monoxide levels (used to estimate respirable particulate matter exposure)...

INTRODUCTION: Portugal has had a high rate of forest fires in recent years. Inhaled wood smoke can have short- and long-term effects on the lung function of people exposed to it. STUDY OBJECTIVES: To assess the lung function of active wildland (forest) firefighters. METHODS: Cross-sectional study. A self-questionnaire on personal and work habits was used and spirometry values were obtained using Piko-6 for a 209 people sample. RESULTS: We found a high rate of smoking (42...

Smoke inhalation in burn patients is a serious medical problem around the world. Inhalation injury increases mortality in addition to increasing infections, ventilator-days, and hospital stays. There are also large numbers of patients subjected to smoke inhalation without burns from cooking fires, burning crops and forest fires. The injury results in a fall in arterial oxygenation as a result of airway blockade, increased pulmonary transvascular fluid flux and loss of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction. The changes in cardiopulmonary function are mediated at least in part by reactive oxygen and nitrogen species...

BACKGROUND: Major forest fires near populated areas during 2003 exacted a huge economic toll on communities in British Columbia. We designed a study to examine associations between PM2.5 and PM10 levels and physician visits in two affected communities. METHODS: Measurements of 24-hour averages of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) obtained from the monitoring network of the BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection were used to define weeks where forest fires resulted in increases in ambient PM...

We investigated the cardiorespiratory health effects of smoke exposure from the 1997 Southeast Asian Forest Fires among persons who were hospitalized in the region of Kuching, Malaysia. We selected admissions to seven hospitals in the Kuching region from a database of all hospital admissions in the state of Sarawak during January 1, 1995 and December 31, 1998. For several cardiorespiratory disease classifications we used Holt-Winters time-series analyses to determine whether the total number of monthly hospitalizations during the forest fire period (August 1 to October 31, 1997), or post-fire period (November 1, 1997 to December 31, 1997) exceeded forecasted estimates established from a historical baseline period of January 1, 1995 to July 31, 1997...